London -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Clad in brown trench coats , dark glasses and trilby hats , what appear to be three secret agents huddle around a payphone box with listening equipment .

It 's not a 1950s film scene but the latest street art attributed to Britain 's famously anonymous graffiti artist Banksy .

The image -- apparently a comment on the issue of government surveillance -- appeared early Sunday , local media said , on a house wall in the provincial English spa town of Cheltenham , in Gloucestershire .

The location may be a reference to the town 's role as host to Britain 's Government Communications Headquarters , known as GCHQ -- the UK equivalent of the U.S. National Security Agency .

The NSA has been at the center of the spying row sparked by revelations by its former contractor Edward Snowden about the extent of government surveillance . Some leaked documents also make a reference to GCHQ , although the UK government says the listening agency operates only within a strict framework of controls .

Asked about the image , a spokeswoman for GCHQ said , `` This is the first time we have ever been asked to comment on art . Although we are not qualified critics , we are as intrigued as the rest of the residents of Cheltenham about the appearance of the mysterious artwork .

`` For those who are interested , our website gives a glimpse of what modern day intelligence operatives are really like , although some may be disappointed by the lack of trench coats and dark glasses . ''

Karen Smith , who reportedly lives in the house , told the Gloucestershire Echo newspaper , `` It 's pretty good . It livens the street up a bit . There have been a lot of people about today looking at it . ''

The artwork emerged a day before The Washington Post and United States arm of The Guardian were awarded a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting on the NSA revelations , described as `` marked by authoritative and insightful reports that helped the public understand how the disclosures fit into the larger framework of national security . ''

Banksy 's own website makes no reference to the artwork . It instead features what appears to be a new artwork showing a man and a woman apparently embracing but each looking over the other 's shoulder at a smartphone -- perhaps a comment on our modern-day addiction to technological devices .

Banksy 's last high-profile project was a month-long street art `` residency '' in New York City .

Each day of October , Banksy unveiled new works of art around New York . The works were then announced on his website and posted to Instagram . Many of the surprise exhibits followed his signature street-art style : stencils spray-painted on streets , walls of buildings and under bridges .

INTERACTIVE : Banksy takes over NYC

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Mural on side of house in Cheltenham shows three men huddled round a pay phone

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Clad in trench coats and dark glasses , they hold old-fashioned listening equipment

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The street art has been widely attributed to graffiti artist Banksy

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Britain 's GCHQ , the equivalent of the U.S. National Security Agency , is based in Cheltenham